HUNNEMAN: Something from the bar, perhaps?

It's something I expect to be saying quite a bit on an upcoming
Sunday morning.

"Can I pour you some more champagne?"

The good folks of the Dorland Mountain Arts Colony plan to
celebrate 80 years of serving the artistic community on Sept. 25
with a champagne brunch fundraiser at Temecula Creek Inn.

In addition to attending the brunch and art auction the
nonprofit organization is holding to mark the milestone, I've been
asked to be a "celebrity" waiter at the event.

I was happy to oblige. Anyone who has ever felt the Dorland
magic holds the place near to their heart.

Hmmm. I'll probably also be saying, "That should come out with a
little club soda."

In the 1930s, Ellen and Robert Dorland of Pasadena homesteaded
300 acres in the hills southwest of Temecula and built an adobe
home with the help of local Indians.

Ellen was a concert pianist, and Robert was a scientist and also
the manager of the San Diego Philharmonic Orchestra.

In the 1950s, the couple moved permanently to their hilltop home
near Temecula.

Ellen Dorland's Pasadena students, who were loyal to their
teacher, made the journey to Temecula for their lessons, often
staying with the Dorlands for days at a time.

That was the beginning of what is now a world-famous arts
colony.

After Robert Dorland died in the 1970s, Ellen Dorland and her
longtime friend Barbara Horton, an environmentalist, shared a dream
of founding an artist colony similar to ones they had visited on
the East Coast. Ground was broken for the colony in 1979; old
redwood buildings from Pasadena and Fallbrook were ripped down and
their wood was hauled to Temecula to build the first cabins.

Eventually, eight cabins were built, and over the years, about
1,200 artists from around the world came to the colony for weeks
and months at a time to paint, write, compose and enjoy the
mountaintop serenity.

Ellen Dorland died in 1986, but the colony, which was run by a
volunteer board of directors, continued to thrive.

All of that changed in May 2004, when the Eagle Fire charred
9,000 acres along Highway 79 South, including the artists' cabins
and the Dorlands' adobe.

With the gallant effort by a number of passionate volunteers,
the first two of Dorland's rebuilt cabins opened in May 2009. More
cabins are planned.

Artists have been returning to Dorland, including musician and
author Scott Ibex, who is staying there and will perform at the
September brunch.